Hiroshima & Miyajima, Japan: Cities of History, Culture, and New Beginnings
Day 1, Hiroshima
Sunday, September 28, 2025
Welcome to Japan
Deboarding the ferry from Busan, the passport and customs lines took a little longer than boarding, but no more than a half an hour so it wasn’t bad at all. We immediately noticed that Shimonoseki, our port of entry, had a lot less English signs than we had been seeing in the big cities of Seoul and Busan. But, once we were through customs we were able to find the restrooms and the skywalk over to the nearby JR station (Japan Railways) fairly quickly. Â
Upon entrance to the train station we immediately saw the train ticket machines, where we would need to buy our IC card to simplify transit use throughout Japan. We hadn’t yet seen an ATM, and couldn’t remember if we needed cash to for the IC card like we did in Korea or not so we went over to the machines to give it a try with our credit card. While the machine had a card reader, the answer is no you cannot use a credit card for an IC card itself, only for individual tickets. The hunt for finding an ATM began and we walked around a little before spotting one at a 7-11 within the station. Perfect. Except wait, Andrew’s wallet is gone. He had somehow managed to lose it between the ticket machine and the ATM! Welcome to Japan. Not 20 minutes in the country and we were already off to a great start.
Strangely enough, Andrew had actually put his credit card in his pocket. So while he lost his wallet, he did still have one credit card. And more importantly he still had his passport!Â
I pulled out some cash with my debit card while he retraced his steps 5 times, it’s not like it was far. Japan is known for being able to find lost items so we were hopeful. He asked at every counter to see if someone had turned one in, but to no avail. And then reluctantly he went to file a police report at the nearby koban (police station). Using translator apps and broken English we got the message across, and even they were surprised when at 8:30am they asked when he had last seen it, with 8:10am being his answer. They also went to all the counters to ask, maybe there would have been a translation issue? Alas, still no wallet. They took Andrew’s info and we decided it was time to move forward with our trip and let future Andrew deal with it – We still had my wallet after all.
Figuring out the Trains...
We didn’t have any intention of exploring Shimonoseki, instead our plan was to catch a train to Hiroshima. Figuring out the train in Japan was way more confusing than Korea which was unexpected. It’s possible this is because we entered this country in a much less touristed area, but we were under the impression Korea would be much less English friendly. Everywhere in Seoul and Busan seemed to either have both Japanese and English in addition to Korean or be written in such a way that it would be more universal or recognizable from an English speaking country.
The ticket machine in the Shimonoseki JR station had English, so purchasing our IC cards and tickets were relatively straight forward. However, the info signs were only in Japanese characters except for a few Arabic numerals. Since we weren’t familiar with what information they included on the trains it definitely took a minute to match up the characters on the tickets with the wayfinding signs in the station but in the end we managed to get on the correct train in the correct direction.
First step done, but we weren’t to Hiroshima yet. To get from Shimonoseki to Hiroshima we had to take a local train to the nearby Kokura Station and then a shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima. The most confusing part of the process was buying our shinkansen (bullet train) ticket. At that particular station you couldn’t use the ticket machine if you hadn’t pre booked your ticket or if you were transferring. Coming from the JR train, we were transferring. After fumbling with the options on the machine for several minutes I started translating the various Japanese signs posted next to the machine and we found one that said JR transfers must use counter. So we got in line to talk with the teller and fumbled with them in broken English to purchase our shinkansen tickets to Hiroshima.
In general the shinkansens seem to operate frequently enough that you can book last minute tickets, especially if relying on other factors to get you there on time (as was our case with the ferry). In this case we asked for the “next train to Hiroshima”. They run so frequently, that that was in 15 minutes. The teller handed us our tickets, and we were ready to go!
Or were we. Reading the ticket was another thing we got there in the end with the help of translation apps -technology is amazing, but when we had gotten so used to not actually needing the apps in Korea it was an interesting surprise. Partly stressing due to the time crunch of not wanting to miss the train, and partly confused by not knowing what we were supposed to look for on the ticket since the ticket was entirely in Japanese. (I will note as we got closer to Tokyo later on this trip, the tickets started including more and more English; the challenges of entering a country in an uncommon way).
The ticket had a name of the train line you’re supposed to match to the way finding signs, which made sense, but in terms of direction it was done differently than we had experienced. If you recall, we’d already gone the wrong way once on a metro in Busan so we were paranoid about doing it again, especially on a much more expensive shinkansen ticket. In this instance, for choosing the correct direction, rather than match the “end of line” you were supposed to look for your specific train number on the station’s signboard which was new to us but we got there. Platform established, check.Â
Japan is notorious for their lines, so naturally the next step figure out where to line up. By this point we had whipped out the translation app, and on the ticket it listed the car and seats. We were in car three but to complicate things because some shinkansens are 8 cars long, and some 16, “car 3” is labeled in 2 different places on the ground for lining up depending on how long your specific shinkansen is. The number of cars on the train isn’t written on the ticket, instead it’s on the signboard. That took way too long to figure out but check! Next hurdle accomplished and time! We made it to our correct boarding location just before the shinkansen arrived.
Everyone advised packing light because of all the stairs. Thinking about stairs, Andrew and I opted to take one big bag instead of two smaller ones deciding it be easier to navigate stairs taking turns carrying the large suitcase up and down the stairs. What we didn’t fully understand was that unlike every other train we’ve ridden (including the bullet train in Korea) the shinkansen doesn’t have a shared space for luggage. They do have large overhead storage that would be great for carry-on sized luggage but only a couple special seats at the back of the car for bigger bags. Andrew stashed ours in the special spot because the folks sitting there weren’t using it and we made sure to book the “over sized bag” seats for all our other luggage moving rides on the future Shinkansens. I will note that we did see some folks precariously stuff rather large bags in the overhead shelves later on in our journey, but it especially felt dangerous for us on to do so on this train as we didn’t have adjacent seats and so we would have been lifting our bag over other peoples heads. Â
...and the Street Cars
We finally arrived at our destination in Hiroshima. As we exited the train and entered the main part of the station we stepped into a huge mass of people. It was like a wave. Not only were there a lot more people, it was a much higher percentage of foreigners than we had seen concentrated in any one area of our trip thus far.Â
Not wanting to make the trek back to the train station tomorrow, on our way out we bought our shinkansen tickets for two days from now for our planned bike ride from Onimichi. I felt validated in our previous confusion, because we were actually able to use the machines in Hiroshima Station, and they were a lot more straightforward. But I suppose we were in a much more tourist heavy area.Â
Hiroshima’s metro train system is a network of streetcars rather than the underground metro trains we had been using thus far. Fortunately with the high percentage of non Japanese speaking crowds there were all sorts of staff helping to direct the flow of people. As we were trying to figure out how to get to our hotel, a staffer saw our hesitation and immediately told us which line to take and where to line up for it based on our open Google maps. That was nice.Â
The street car itself was crazy crowded. They stuffed us in like sardines. And it only took us a few times to realize that the Hiroshima street car is a flat fee regardless of how far you ride, so you swipe the IC card only after getting off. Loading up was a little slow with all of us foreigners trying to swipe our card before getting on. Staff, I’m assuming, were telling us in Japanese to swipe our cards after so that we’d hurry up and get on. Not only do you only swipe upon exit, but apparently the IC cards only work at the front of the street car not at the machine at the back door. This system was different then any of the busses or subways we rode for the entire extent of our trip. We did later see signs explaining the process, but it definitely wasn’t instinctual to squeeze through the crowd to get to the front of the street car while the back door was open and you’re paranoid it’s gonna leave before you have a chance to get off. Â
Hiroshima Style
Once off the street car it was pretty easy to find our hotel and drop our bags off. And then it was time for lunch. I had saved a couple okonomiyaki (a sort of savory pancake) places on my map, because it’s delicious, and I was super eager to try the famous Hiroshima version of it. We went to the closest one I had saved. Well, we tried, but the first one was inside a sort of mall space, and had a line out the door that Andrew wasn’t willing to wait in, so we made our way to the next pinned spot on my map, Okonomimura.
Okonomimura is a multistory building with several okonomiyaki restaurants. It had several grills to choose from, seriously there are 25 different restaurants listed on their website right now! What a cool concept of so many of them being in one convenient place. We started climbing floors and upon entering the third floor a waiter by two empty seats beckoned us to them, so how could we say no?Â
The Hiroshima style okonomiyaki was delicious, but definitely challenged our chopstick finesse. Watching them grill it right in front of us was also a lot of fun and watching them make it really explains why they are referred to as “Japanese pancakes” because they taste nothing like American pancakes.
Atomic Bomb Site
After lunch we made our way to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.  That’s where the atomic bomb epicenter was and they have since preserved the Expo Hall that was closest to the explosion, today known as the “A-Bomb Dome”. There is also a museum and several memorials so that we can remember and honor the victims of the attack.Â
Honestly, Andrew and I had opted to stay in the city of Hiroshima more due to it’s access to the nearby island of Miyajima (our destination for the next day) and the Shimanamikaido (our destination for the day after that). But, once in Hiroshima we felt obligated to pay our respects to the Memorial. We opted not to go in to the museum itself (and later talking to a British couple and heard it was crazy crowded inside so I feel okay in our decision there). We did go into the National Peace Memorial Hall for Atomic Bomb Victims and learned a lot about specific people affected directly, both during the bomb, and the aftermath effects from the radiation and uncertainty. I hadn’t previously put a lot of thought into the day to day experience of survivors as they continued on with their lives. It was very moving, but also we both felt very awkward being there as Americans. Especially in the light of our current politics. It’s scary to think about what we could and did do, and what may end up being repeated.
Interestingly Hiroshima style okonomiyaki came about because of the bomb. Food was scarce and so they had to change up the ways they cooked traditional foods, this led to less batter, more noodles, and basically whatever else they could put on it.
Castle
Next we made our way towards the Hiroshima Castle. Unlike the palaces we had gone to in Korea, this castle had a lot more information placards telling us about the various spaces and how they were actually used. They recreated the castle in 1958 (an anagram for the original construction back in 1598!) and parts of it were even built as close to the original as possible based on what information they could find.Â
We went into the main keep, which is 5 stories tall and today used as a museum with a lot of information and awesome views at the top. Seeing the city from above and learning about the city as it was before the bombing was a nice way to end our day (and gave us a good break from the on again off again rain).
Wrapping up Day 1
After we finished the castle museum it was late enough for us to actually check-in to our hotel. So we made our way there to shower and freshen up before dinner. Dinner we decided would be ramen, since it is our go to Japanese food back home after all. Andrew found a izikaya style place nearby and we headed there. The food and vibes were awesome even if we couldn’t tell what they were shouting every time someone came in, placed an order, or left the restaurant.
After dinner we did a little shopping, but then made our way back to the hotel to rest for a bit. Our hotel (Candeo Hotels Hiroshima Hatchobori) had a Japanese spa on the 14th floor. It was open most hours, but tattooed individuals are only allowed between the hours of 11pm-2am. Not knowing if I’d have another chance to use one I opted to set an alarm for 11:30pm and go to sleep early so that I could enjoy it without losing too much sleep. It would have been nice to use them at more normal to me hours.
The spa itself was nice, it was on the top floor/roof with both an indoor and an outdoor bath. The water was very hot. It was nice to relax my muscles for a while before I decided I was too hot and called it a night. The women’s spa also had a wet sauna available that I briefly enjoyed, but the baths were my main interest.
Day 2, Miyajima
Monday, September 29, 2025
Our hotel breakfast started at 7am , so we decided to try and start our day as early as that. We enjoyed a breakfast buffet with small samplings of everything, not fully knowing what we’d enjoy the most so needing to try everything. I really enjoyed the tamagoyaki, which is like a rolled omelet cut into bite size pieces.
After breakfast we made our way to the streetcar which would take us all the way to the ferry terminal. I was hoping the street car would be less crowded in the morning compared to the day before but no such luck. We were jammed in there for about an hour with no seats. Although we did have a probably too loud for Japan yet lovely conversation with a British couple also heading to the island of Miyajima. Due to the crowds, at the end of the day we did opt to pay a little extra and return to Hiroshima via the train so that we could sit down!
Catching the ferry to the island was pretty easy, we pulled up bought are tickets using our IC card and immediately hopped on without having to wait at all. The ride over even offered excellent views.
I Guess We're Climbing a Mountain
On the island we headed towards the famous floating Torii Gate so we could see it at the lowest tide we’d be able to see it. At 16.6m (54ft) tall this torii gate was massive. Although we didn’t quite make it early enough to walk up next to it, there were enough folks attempting to use the last sliver of sand to get as close as possible to give us a good sense of scale. One thing that I thought was cool was that the gate was an organic shape, with the pillars being made straight from camphor logs.
We snapped several photos of the gate and then decided to start making our way up the mountain. We were purely going off the definitely not to scale map they had given us thinking it’d be a lovely stroll to the top of Mt Misen. It also labeled the trek as a 1.5 to 2hour walk and we were fit. The cable car would be crowded, and is for weaklings. Ha! I also did some terrible mental math reading the 535m summit and instead of multiplying by 3 I divided by 3 to get into feet, a unit I am familiar with.. Thinking the walk went up only 200ft in elevation, that’s nothing! (when in actuality its 1755ft!).
We started making our way up the stairs taking pictures and enjoying the scenery. But it was 81 degrees with a 80% humidity, and our spoiled selves moved to Portland to avoid humidity! The rainforest we were climbing through was stifling. Â
About a 1/3 of the way up there was a large pagoda with benches. This is when we started to question our choices. We’d only gone 20min on the 90min “walk”! We sat for a minute, and fortunately it was open enough that we were able to dry out a little. A family started making their way down and informed us and one other older German couple resting on the benches that they had taken the cable car up. Apparently the German couple had been told the cable was closed for repair, so they opted to climb back down and ride the cable car up. I hope they made it. I will also note that the source they had used to confirm that the cable car was closed was ChatGPT… Nice…
We had rested long enough to dry out that we decided we could push on. We also didn’t want to go all the way down the way we had come, across town, and back up to wait in line for the cable cars. Instead we decided we’d push ourselves to climb faster, to create a breeze. It was mostly the humidity killing us anyways.
Through a lot of grumbling and shirt wringing we did eventually make it to the top! The views were awesome and the hike would be perfect on a cooler day. We weren’t able to get our stamp because the info desk was closed, but we did buy a commemorative “I climbed Mt Misen” talisman at the temple near the top. We earned it! (In both Korea and Japan, lots of places have souvenir stamps, so we always carried a book with us collecting the stamps when we came across them).
Unfortunately I’m pretty sure I picked up a urushiol induced rash on my ankle from one of the plants on this hike (probably from a Japanese lacquer tree). Ironically, on hiking tours in the Pacific Northwest I try to point out to my guests the poison oak and warn them about how terrible of a souvenir their rashes make. I guess I have first hand experience of that now.
We had decided long ago, basically back when we chose not to turn around on the hike, that we’d be taking the Ropeway cable car down. It wasn’t until we were at the top that we realized how far the cable car actually was from the peak. No wonder so many people were resting at the observation deck.
As we were hiking toward the cable car station we could here loud speaker announcements bouncing off the hills. As we neared them we were finally able to make out what they were saying: “Take caution, it’s unseasonably hot out there, bring lots of water”. Great, now you tell me! We had climbed that mountain with one water bottle shared between the two of us and very minimal snacks! At the station we found some much needed ice cream and drink vending machines. Unfortunately we were low on cash, and since you pay for the cable car at the bottom so we weren’t sure if it was a cash only thing and so we had to refrain from buying too much from the vending machines or cash only souvenir store. We counted out our coins and had just enough for an ice cream and a drink each! Phew.
The cable car was very scenic so it was a lovely ride down. It’s baffling to me that we thought of that as a stroll, and not a hike. It was so high up the ropeway had a cable car switch part way down. We had to get out, wait in a short line, and hop on a different type of cable car to finish the journey down.
Into town
Finally back into town we bee lined it for the nearest ATM so that we could buy some much needed lunch. We found a nice little sandwich shop, and I got a fried oyster sandwich since fried oysters are a specialty of the region. The sandwiches were just what we needed and left us enough room to get some soft serve coffee ice creams as well. Yum. Â
After fueling up we made our way back to the Torii gate which was now “floating” since it was closer to high tide. We checked out the large Itsukushima Shrine nearby which was awesome. It had lots of walkways and elements that also felt like they were floating on the water. Finally we meandered through shops on our way back to the ferry being cautious to not miss the last one.Â
Dinner was late, because once we got back to the hotel we both desperately needed showers. Andrew opted to go use the spa baths since he’s currently tattoo free so he wasn’t restricted to the middle of the night and by the time we were both done it was well past time for food. Not wanting to think too hard and figuring we wouldn’t have a chance to have more for a while we decided to go back to Okonomimura to get Hiroshima style okonomiyaki again. This time a different floor.Â
It was definitely more crowded in the evening, so we had to wait in line for food. We randomly chose a grill and waited our turn. The second one was better than the first!Â
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